Johnny Manziel is at a point in his life when he is ready to admit that his football career is probably “in the past.”
The former Cleveland Browns quarterback made the statement in an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal for a story that was published Saturday.
“In the past, that’s probably how you would characterize him,” Manziel told the newspaper when asked about his soccer career. “I finally got to a point where I try to achieve happiness in life, not happiness on the soccer field.”
“I know a lot of people probably want me to come back and play and give them another chance, but I don’t know, in terms of being a person and discovering life as a young adult, trying to make it happen and think if I’ve ever been in a better place From what I am right now, I can honestly say that I am happy and doing the right thing to try to smile at myself every day, and that means more to me than going out and playing on a soccer field. “
Manziel, 27, last played with the Memphis Express at the American Football Alliance in 2019, before the league withdrew. He joined the AAF after being released by the Montreal Alouettes from the Canadian Football League. That league said it could not play for another CFL team.
Cleveland selected the winner of the Heisman Trophy with the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NFL draft. But after two tumultuous seasons, the Browns released him in March 2016; He posted a 2-6 record as a starter.
“During that time when I was drafted, I didn’t put in the time I needed to be a great player and I don’t think my heart was on it,” Manziel told the newspaper. “And I think when I went back to Canada, it was the same way. I really believed and really thought it was what I wanted to do, and my heart wasn’t there, and it worked the way it did.”
Manziel has had several problems off the field. In 2016, a domestic assault charge against him in Dallas was dismissed after he took an anger management course and participated in the NFL’s substance abuse program. In the February 2018 interview, he said he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had stopped drinking.
Now that he lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, Manziel told the newspaper that soccer “humiliated” him and that he is grateful for that.
“Thank God I had the opportunity to be humble, because when you think you are on top of the world, it is a dangerous place,” he said.
He told the newspaper that he was grateful for the impact of Kliff Kingsbury, his former Texas A&M offensive coordinator. He said Kingsbury, now head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, is a “guy who has changed my life for the better and for whom I will always be grateful.”
Manziel had a historic 2012 season with the Aggies, culminating in becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman. He also became the first freshman in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in one season.
His college success did not translate into professional football, and the label of being a failed NFL prospect has stuck with him, but he told the Avalanche-Journal that he is happy with what he was able to accomplish.
“People can call me whatever they want, but at the end of the day, I’m proud of what I did. I’m proud of what I accomplished. I made my life better. I made my family’s life better. I had a chance to play amazing college football, and it didn’t work in the NFL and that’s fine, “he said.
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